Two-Year-Old Released From Hospital Following Successful Heart Transplant

By Peyton Phillips December 10, 2021
At just two years old, Rocky Wayne had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

A Kentucky family had a lot to be thankful for this year after two-year-old Rocky Wayne was released from the hospital following a successful heart transplant surgery on Thanksgiving Day. 

Rocky was diagnosed with left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy (LVNC) — a heart muscle disorder where the lower left chamber of the heart, which helps the heart pump blood, does not develop correctly — five months after being born in Sept. of 2019. He then spent 123 days in the pediatric care unit before being sent home from the hospital to wait for a donor.

His parents received the call on Nov. 24 that they were being offered a donor heart. Rocky received his new heart the following day on Thanksgiving, and he has since returned home to Bardstown, Kentucky to reunite with his older brothers. 

Norton Children’s Hospital staff lined up and down the hall to send Rocky home with a celebration parade.

Image source: Wave 3 News